Fastening device



Jan. 26, 1937. B. Lf uARNsTRoM 2,068,932

FASTENING DEVICE Filed Aug. 5, 1955 F- 5 4 |NVENTOR BERT L. QUHRNJT'ROM B mm 9L m ATTORNEY CLASPS. ETC.

Patented Jan. 26, 1937 a UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FASTENING DEVICE Bert L. Quarnstrom, Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich.

Application August 5, 1935, Serial No. 34.716

3 Claims. (Cl. 2473) This invention relates to fasteners and particularly to spring clip fasteners.

An object is to provide a spring fastener having spaced apart spring grip portions, here Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view through the fastener, and

Fig. 4 is a view showing the manner of employing a series of fasteners for securing a sec- 5 shown as opposite end portions, one of which tion of tubing to a support. 5 portions is adapted to be releasably received To secure tubing, such as a gasoline line, or within an aperture in a supporting member to wire conduit, it has been the practice to provide frictionally, grippingly, securely engage said openings in the supporting frame and secure the member under inherent, expansible, spring tentube or conduit thereto by means of a clamp 0 sion, and the other portion is adapted to releasbolted through the openings. The present inably receive and grippingly embrace a supported vention provides a plurality of devices whereby member under contractile spring tension, ina tube or similar part may be quickly assembled herent in the structure and accentuated by imupon the frame. These devices consist essenposition of additional tension due to engagetially of spring clips bent generally in the form ment of the first mentioned grip portion within of a hairpin or U. Each leg of the U is provided 15 the aperture of the supporting member. with similar convolutions which assist in retain- This invention has particular reference to the ing the devices in the frame openings and which automobile art although not limited thereto form a section for grasping the object to be supwherein, in the past, tubing, wire conduits and ported.

other narrow and elongate objects have been as- A series of spaced openings are provided in the 20 sembled on the automobile by clamps or the like frame, and into each is inserted one of these bolted to the supports. In actual assembly pracclips. Each clip is compressed by the insertion tice this fastening construction consumed a conincluding the clamping section which almost siderable amount of time and expense. closes by this action. The tube or conduit is It is an object of the present invention to prothen brought to a point opposite the extremity 25 vide a simple, inexpensive spring clip fastener of the legs of the clip and forced therebetween. which may be formed of flat spring stock or The legs yield to the pressure and allow the tube even wire so formed and shaped as to have one to enter the clamping section and be resiliently spring grip portion releasably insertable into a securely held therein.

provided aperture in a supporting member to In the drawing the support or frame through 30 securely engage the same to support another which the fastening devices are inserted is inelement therefrom. The fastener is provided dicated at It). The fastening elements or clips with a second spring grip portion which is adaptare indicated generally as l2. The supported ed to releasably receive and grippingly embrace tube is indicated as l3. The clip is insertable a supported member to securely hold the same as shown in Fig. 1 through an opening H in the 35 for support by said supporting member. element Ill.

The construction is such that the insertion of The fastening device l2 comprises a strip of the one grip portion of the clip into the aperresilient material such as spring metal or wire ture within the supporting member causes the generally defined as a narrow strip of spring other grip portion of the clip to more snugly and stock. The strip is bent upon itself to form a 40 tightly embrace the supported member. It is pair of similarly shaped spaced complementary shown as embodied in a clip adapted to secure legs l6--l6. The closed end l8 forms the leadtubing wiring, or the like, to an automobile ing or insertable end of the device as indicated chassis frame. by the arrow in Fig. 1. The leading end I8 is 5 Other objects, advantages, and meritorious of less width at the tip than the width of the features will more fully appear from the followopening H but the legs l6 are sprung outwardly ing description, appended claims, and accomto a distance greater than the width of the openpanying drawing, wherein: ing as is clearly apparent in Fig. 1.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the fastener Each leg has a section 20 which tapers gradand the support showing the manner of inually inwardly toward the bent end l8. Just 50 rm prior to this tapered section, the legs converge Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the fastener showtoward one another at 22 to form a throat about ing it fully inserted through the opening in the which the side walls of the opening are adapted support and the manner of insertingasupported to press when the fastener is inserted to its element into the fastener to be carried thereby, full extent as shown in Fig. 2. The width of the 55 throat is normally greater than that of the opening I so that when the fastener is inserted the side walls of the opening compress the throat and draw the free ends of the legs into closer proximity. This will be apparent upon comparing Fig. 1 with Fig. 2.

Each leg section I 6 is provided with a loop portion 24 which bends backwardly slightly to overlie the throat portion 22, These loops form abutting structures which prevent further insertion of the clip into the opening and they are adapted to contact the supporting frame In as indicated at 26 in Fig. 2. The throat section 22 is so constructed that when the clip is inserted both the loop section and the tapered section 20 on each leg tend to pinch the opposite sides of the frame support therebetween. By this action, the loop sections are urged laterally toward the free ends of the legs. That is to say, the position of the frame about the throat not only compresses the legs l6 but at the same time urges the loops into a more vertical position. This last action accentuates the compression of the legs and assists in further retaining the legs against forces tending to spread them.

The free ends of the legs have a gripping portion 28 which is adapted to embrace a tubing or similar shaped object. It is obvious that this gripping section can be formed to fit around any kind of an object presented to the clip. The extremities of the leg are outwardly flared to allow the legs to spread when an object, such as the tubing shown in Figs. 2 and 3 is pressed thereagainst.

To secure a lengthy object, such as a tube, a series of spaced holes are formed in the frame where it is desired the tube shall run. A clip is then inserted in each hole until it is resiliently retained therein. It is best that the clips be inserted so that they will extend traversely to the direction of the tube which is about to be assembled. The tube is now brought up to the outwardly flared ends of the clip and pressed thereagainst. The legs of the clip will yieldingly spread away from one another and permit the tube to enter the gripping section 28. At this point, the gripping section will embrace the tube and hold it securely in place. The presence of the tube between the leg sections acts to spread the free ends of the legs and increases the pressure of the loop portion 24 as well as the throat portion against the support. This reacts to urge the gripping sections into a tighter grip upon the tube.

In Fig. 4 there is shown a tube section 30 gripped between a series of clips l2 fastened on a support Ill. The support may represent a chassis frame of an automobile and the tube a part of the gasoline line.

When the spring clip has secured the supported member to the supporting member or frame, spring tension is developed in three distinct places which mutually react with one another to increase the gripping force of the clip upon the frame and upon the supported member. In the first place, the throat section 22 is pinched by the side walls of the opening in the frame. This draws the legs into close proximity and causes the clip to grippingly engage the frame. Secondly, the loop sections 24 resiliently bear on the surface of the frame and stiffen the free ends of the legs against spreading. Thirdly, the presence of the supported member between the legs spreads these legs apart and presses the throat section into tighter engagement with the frame and similarly presses the loop sections back against the surface of the frame. It is therefore seen that all three of these tensioning areas mutually assist one another in their respective functions.

What I claim is:

1. A spring clip formed of a narrow strip of spring stock bent generally into the form of a U having complementary resilient legs diverging as they extend away from the closed end of the U and then converging to a contracted throat, said legs shaped to provide a second contracted throat spaced from the first contracted throat toward the free ends of the legs by complementary loops formed in said legs extending outwardly to a maximum spread and slightly overhanging the first mentioned contracted throat, said legs provided between the second contracted throat and the free ends of the legs with complementary outwardly convex gripping portions adapted to be spread resistingly apart to receive an element therebetween.

2. A spring clip formed of a narrow strip of spring stock bent generally into the form of a U having complementary resilient legs diverging as they extend away from the closed end of the U and then converging to a contracted throat, said legs shaped adjacent to their free ends to provide complementary outwardly convex tube gripping portions terminating on the side adjacent to the closed end of the U in a second contracted throat spaced toward the free ends of the legs from the first contracted throat, said legs being shaped between said two contracted throat portions providing complementary loops having substantially parallel legs extending outwardly and substantially normal to the longitudinal centerline of the fastener and to the maximum spread of the fastener and spacing said two contracted throat portions apart.

3. A spring clip formed of spring metal bent generally into the form of a U having complementary resilient legs, said legs provided with cooperating conduit gripping bends adjacent to their free ends and provided with' cooperating aperture engaging bends adjacent to their closed end, and provided intermediate said aperture engaging bends and conduit engaging bends and spacing the same apart with complementary relatively narrow generally LI -shaped loops which form with the aperture engaging bends angles so shaped that lines bisecting the same form acute angles with the closed end portion of the longitudinal centerline of the clip.

BERT L. QUARNSTROM. 

